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Topic Review (Newest First)

10-18-2012 07:29 AM

plantbrain

CO2 is 90% of this hobby for most folks, unless you go non cO2, then it's not even 1%

Scotty made a good point about "maximum CO2 concentration."
But in many cases, it may be less, sometimes much less than you think, but it will NEVER tell you have more CO2 that this.

CO2 is always equal to this value on the chart, or the CO2 is less than that value.

I tend to target 45-50ppm myself. But I have wet/dry filters and good O2, so I have much more wiggle room.

you may need to wait a bit for the new growth to fill in so you can trim with something left over, 1-2 weeks etc.

In the meantime, some folks will spot treat with H2O2. Do not add more than 10 mls per 10 Gal worth of aquarium at any one time.

After 3-6 weeks, the BBA will slowly go away and you can trim it out.
Some use SAE's(a fish) to gnaw the BBA. They get lazy and bully other fish later as they get old and not longer eat BBA.

Mostly just keeping on top 0f things and trimming, good CO2, good light, ferts are pretty easy relatively speaking, tap water sounds perfect, you may only need a little Mg. Otherwise KNO3, KH2PO4, and Trace mix(MgSO4 can be added to this) eg CMS+B.

IME, diffusers clog and change the dosing of CO2.
They need cleaned routinely and maintained.

Good current for the surface, some rippling etc.........= key to making sure there's ample O2.

Fish Respiration MUST include both CO2 and O2 levels, not just CO2.

If you have high CO2 and low O2 in the aquarium= least amount of wiggle room with dosing CO2 and stressing fish. High O2 and high CO2= decent for fish, great for plants, both are happy. My fish and shrimp bred in every tank I own, so they are doing pretty good.

You will use more CO2 and degas more, but you gain more O2, thus can use more CO2. I have about 55-60ppm on average for my aquariums. But I have excellent filtration(Wet/dry filters, surface skimming etc) and excellent current.

Odd thing is, Dupla made a big deal about wet/drys and good current in the 1980's, few listened.
To date, I've never seen a confirmed case of Ca++ deficient aquarium plant.

CO2 looks a lot like that claim.

And I've seen more CO2 issues that I can shake a stick at, I'm not saying 100% of the time..........but 99.99, okay 99.999% of the time, it'll be something else like CO2.
also remember this about cO2 measurement, the pH/KH chart will NEVER tell you that you have more CO2 than you think, only less.

So say the chart says I have 40 ppm. I might have 40ppm or less, I CANNOT have more than 40ppm however.
Now some folks measure and the chart says they have 200-300ppm, plants and fish are fine.
The chart is obviously incorrect and has over estimated the actual CO2, which is likely in the 30-50ppm rnge for many of these folks.
So the chart will underestimate the actual value in all cases or be close to the actually value.

This makes many think they have 30 ppm, when they may only have 10ppm and have algae.
Or they rush and adjust the CO2 way to fast and then leave for work to come home to gasping or dead fish in the tank.

Thanks Tom, I believe I am doing everything recommended in your post - plenty of surface aggitation as well as current. I clean my diffuser every two weeks, etc. I spot treat with H2O2 once a week.

The only thing I have not done is try and measure the co2 level. I don't know anything about the ph/kh chart - can someone help with that?

I just reduced my light intensity a few days ago so we will see if that helps. I have very high light that I was diffusing with a screan. I just added a second screan.

10-16-2012 12:06 AM

Texans

if you need ca add or bury some shells or crushed coral

10-15-2012 02:41 PM

HD Blazingwolf

^ Epic Post

10-14-2012 03:52 AM

plantbrain

BBA= trim off old worthless(to the plant anyway) leaves.

you may need to wait a bit for the new growth to fill in so you can trim with something left over, 1-2 weeks etc.

In the meantime, some folks will spot treat with H2O2. Do not add more than 10 mls per 10 Gal worth of aquarium at any one time.

After 3-6 weeks, the BBA will slowly go away and you can trim it out.
Some use SAE's(a fish) to gnaw the BBA. They get lazy and bully other fish later as they get old and not longer eat BBA.

Mostly just keeping on top 0f things and trimming, good CO2, good light, ferts are pretty easy relatively speaking, tap water sounds perfect, you may only need a little Mg. Otherwise KNO3, KH2PO4, and Trace mix(MgSO4 can be added to this) eg CMS+B.

IME, diffusers clog and change the dosing of CO2.
They need cleaned routinely and maintained.

Good current for the surface, some rippling etc.........= key to making sure there's ample O2.

Fish Respiration MUST include both CO2 and O2 levels, not just CO2.

If you have high CO2 and low O2 in the aquarium= least amount of wiggle room with dosing CO2 and stressing fish. High O2 and high CO2= decent for fish, great for plants, both are happy. My fish and shrimp bred in every tank I own, so they are doing pretty good.

You will use more CO2 and degas more, but you gain more O2, thus can use more CO2. I have about 55-60ppm on average for my aquariums. But I have excellent filtration(Wet/dry filters, surface skimming etc) and excellent current.

Odd thing is, Dupla made a big deal about wet/drys and good current in the 1980's, few listened.
To date, I've never seen a confirmed case of Ca++ deficient aquarium plant.

CO2 looks a lot like that claim.

And I've seen more CO2 issues that I can shake a stick at, I'm not saying 100% of the time..........but 99.99, okay 99.999% of the time, it'll be something else like CO2.
also remember this about cO2 measurement, the pH/KH chart will NEVER tell you that you have more CO2 than you think, only less.

So say the chart says I have 40 ppm. I might have 40ppm or less, I CANNOT have more than 40ppm however.
Now some folks measure and the chart says they have 200-300ppm, plants and fish are fine.
The chart is obviously incorrect and has over estimated the actual CO2, which is likely in the 30-50ppm rnge for many of these folks.
So the chart will underestimate the actual value in all cases or be close to the actually value.

This makes many think they have 30 ppm, when they may only have 10ppm and have algae.
Or they rush and adjust the CO2 way to fast and then leave for work to come home to gasping or dead fish in the tank.

10-14-2012 03:07 AM

Dmckmc

Okay, I have an update. I've increased co2 to the point where I don't think I can go any further. My drop checker is yellow and fish don't move much at the end of the photo period - the time the co2 goes off.

The good news is the new growth is not stunted. Unfortunately, BBA still seems to take hold of the older leaves, they shrivel and get hard. I also noticed some BBA on my Val stems. I don't have any other algae problems.

I guess its not a calcium issue, but I'd love to nip the BBA. Any more suggestions?

08-25-2012 01:10 AM

HD Blazingwolf

Its very likely then its c02.. especially if new growth is stunted

08-23-2012 01:12 PM

Dmckmc

Thanks HD. It's not a floater - perhaps I have not identified it correctly. I have had problems identifying it via pictures. I brought up the co2 issue because I have been fighting a very small amount of BBA. I tried increasing co2 with my Milwaukee regulator but almost gassed my fish. I liked the Milwaukee but I was not able to make small precise adjustments. I was thinking the small amount of BBA was because I could use a bit more co2 and then Tom Barr chimed in and thought that perhaps the stunted growth could be related. For now, it's the only plant with stunted new growth.

08-23-2012 11:54 AM

HD Blazingwolf

Both are fine

Unless gh is alll magnesium r potassium or other minor booster. Then u should have plenty of calcium

However i just caught on to its a floater. It has ample co2 as its floating. I guess somewhere i missed that one

Kh is carbonate alkalinity or hardness. Most Plants do fine between 0 and 12. Supposedly betweem 3 and 6 is the ideal range

08-23-2012 04:41 AM

Dmckmc

Okay, I have an update. I finally purchased a GH and KH test kit. My gh measured 7 (125.3 ppm) from the tap and a 6 (107.4) from the tank.

KH measured a 2 (35.8 ppm) from the tap and the tank.

So..... What does this mean? Let's ignore for the moment a possible co2 issue which I intend to explore - I just upgraded my regulator and needle valve for better control. Could this be a factor with stunted tip growth for my red root?

Is the gh too high? Is the KH too low?

Thanks

08-05-2012 06:28 PM

tetra73

Use a drop checker to gauge your CO2 level over bps. My bps is different than yours. Counting bps to gauge the CO2 level is meaningless until you poison your fish.

08-05-2012 03:32 PM

Dmckmc

Thanks everyone. You have convinced me. I am going to try working with my co2 before I do anything else. I am first going to upgrade my regulator and nv so I have better control. I'll keep you posted.